Man arrested in York after woman calls police to 'order a pizza'

The vulnerable woman was at risk of harm from a man she was on a bus with.

Police car
Author: Harry LongPublished 6th Apr 2022

A 40 year-old man's been arrested after a vulnerable woman on a bus in North Yorkshire surreptitiously called police for help.

The woman told the call handler she wanted to order a pizza. The handler then asked the woman if she was in trouble - to which she said "yes"

With the woman only able to answer “yes” and “no” to questions, police established she was on a bus in North Yorkshire, and was at risk of harm from a man who was with her.

Officers located the bus using an online tracker and stopped it in the York area.

The man, from Leeds, remains in police custody.

Inspector Dan Spence, Force Incident Manager in North Yorkshire Police’s Control Room, said: “This was really good work by everyone involved, allowing us to take immediate action to safeguard a vulnerable woman. I’m aware of people using the ‘pizza ordering’ technique abroad to contact the police, but I cannot recall a similar call in North Yorkshire.”

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said: "All 999 calls are directed to call centres and answered by BT operators. They will ask which service you need. If no service is requested but anything suspicious is heard throughout the process, the operator will connect you to a police call handler.

"It is always best to speak to the operator if you can, even by whispering. You may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone in response to questions.

"The police call handler will attempt to communicate with you by asking simple yes or no questions. If you are not able to speak, listen carefully to the questions and instructions from the call handler so we can assess your call and arrange help if needed."

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